The Coulomb effect in nonsequential double ionization by counter-rotating two-color elliptical polarization fields

Abstract

Using a three-dimensional classical ensemble model, nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of Ar atoms by counter-rotating two-color elliptical polarization (TCEP) fields is investigated. The major axes of the two elliptical fields are aligned in different directions. The relative alignment of the two elliptical fields strongly affects the waveform of the combined electric field and the ultrafast dynamics of NSDI in TCEP fields. Numerical results show that the correlated electron momentum distributions in the x direction evolve from a V-shaped structure near the axis to a distribution concentrated on the diagonal with the angle between the two elliptical major axes increasing. The asymmetry of the energy sharing between the two electrons during recollision results in the V-shaped structure in the correlated momentum spectrum. Back analysis indicates that the recollision times of a part of the trajectories move from the peak to the valley of the combined electric field with the angle between the two elliptical major axes increasing. Therefore, for the case of a larger angle between the two elliptical major axes, the electrons experience a longer time to escape away from the vicinity of the parent ion and thus the stronger Coulomb effect from the parent ion makes the momentum difference between two electrons small, which results in a distribution concentrated on the diagonal. This provides an effective avenue to control the electron ultrafast dynamics in NSDI.